Africa News - UK Export Finance joins Africa Trade Insurance
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | May 2016
Export credit agency UK Export Finance (UKEF) has become the newest member of the African Trade Insurance (ATI) agency, offering UK exporters enhanced access to growing markets in Africa. The move comes as the UK government looks to encourage more businesses to trade with African countries.
The membership allows UKEF to gain access to information about upcoming opportunities for exporters, as well as local knowledge of firms and projects. ATI will also provide a platform to raise awareness among project sponsors and buyers in African countries of the UKEF support available to importers of UK goods and services. UKEF will be able to share risk with other ATI-member countries in strategically important markets, increasing risk capacity for projects in African countries sourcing goods and services from the UK.
The ATI currently has 10 African countries as members: Benin, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Ethiopia’s membership was approved last year and is pending parliamentary ratification in the country.
Other member organisations of ATI include the African Development Bank, the African Reinsurance Corporation, Atradius Group, Sace, the Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (PTA Bank), and the PTA Re Insurance Company (Zep Re).